The Curse of Erin Winchester
by OopsieDaizy
Summary: *sisfic* Having a little sister could be difficult at times, but it only gets harder once Sam and Dean realize she's not who they believed her to be. Why do the angels care about her? And what's more is why has she been dreaming about a certain one with blue eyes? (Starts in season 1, but not necessarily following every show)
1. Chapter 1

_**Well this is a sisfic, I have a thing for those apparently. The first few little snippets are going to be explaining how their lives were when they were kids. Lemme know what you think, guys. Depending on reviews or whatever is if I'll be continuing this or not. And I was gonna end up making this first person, but then changed my mind and switched it around, so if you find any mistakes, the next chapter should be free of them. Thanks :)**_

* * *

The first thing eight year old Dean Winchester thought when his eyes set on the toddler was- "What the hell is this?"

His dad had left them the night before locked in the motel room, stating that he had to make a trip and would return as soon as he could, and gave the boys the usual orders. Which consisted of never open the door for anyone, don't answer the phone, and most importantly, take care of Sammy. Being only eight years old Dean was surprisingly responsible, at least when it came to his little brother. Sammy was only four, and this little girl sitting in front of them right now chewing on a barbie leg was two according to their Father.

"Dad," Dean said, directing his attention to his Father in the corner. "Who is that?"

"Her name is Erin." John answered. "And I know you're gonna be confused over this, but... She's your little sister. One of these days I'll explain it, but right now you're just going to have to trust me on this, son."

Dean's green eyes widened as he looked down at the baby, which Sammy was already trying to play with. He was waving a toy car in front of her face and giggling.

"How is she our sister, dad?"

"I told you," John glared at him. "I'll explain it when you're older. She's special, Dean. Really special. Which means that her life could be in danger. So it's up to us to make sure nothing happens to her. It's up to you when I'm not here, do you understand?"

"She's a baby, dad. I don't know anything about babies, especially stupid girls."

"Dean," John grabbed him by the shoulders. "She's your responsibility now. Because when I'm out hunting, I can't watch out for her. You'll do as your told." He stood and grabbed a bag from the bed and shoved it in Dean's arms. "These are her things. There's diapers, food, clothes and toys in there. I need to get back on the road."

John barely passed a glance to the toddler sitting on the bed before he grabbed his jacket and stomped from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sammy turned from the bed after giving the baby his toy. "Dean, are we keeping her?"

Dean moved closer and finally managed to look at the kid without grimacing, noticing her peer up at him with eyes identical to Sammy's.

"Yeah," Dean answered. "I guess we are."

Sam grinned. "Good. I like her."

"Yeah," Dean flopped on the side of the bed beside Erin. "She's okay I guess."

"Daddy said she's our sister?"

"Yeah, it's weird."

Sam continued to smile. "I'm not the littlest anymore. I'm a big brother now."

Well as long as Sammy was happy with it, that's all that mattered to Dean. But, he had to admit it might be kind of fun to have a little sister.

* * *

**_Three years later_**

* * *

"I'm hungry." Erin pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "When's Dad coming back?"

"I don't know, Erin." Dean replied, sitting at the motel room table. "I guess we could go across the street to the diner."

"We're not supposed to leave the room, Dean." Sammy said.

"Yeah, and we got like no food here in the room, Sam-" Dean jumped up and grabbed his jacket. "We're going."

Erin cheered her way over to her tennis shoes and slipped them on, immediately having issues in trying to tie the laces.

"Deannn." She whined. "I can't get it!"

After zipping up his jacket he crouched down in front of her. "I told you how to do it like a million times, Erin." He sighed, grabbing the laces. "See watch, make two loops, twist and pull and," He yanked them through. "And there... They're done."

She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. Stop being all girly." He huffed. "Let's go, and you guys remember what we're supposed to do, right?"

"Yep!" Both Sam and Erin said in unison.

"Okay, don't forget. Cause we'll get the cops called on us if we don't do it right." Dean grabbed Erin's hand and led his two younger siblings from the room. "Sammy, take Erin's other hand."

Sam grabbed his little sisters hand and they made their way across the parking lot and to the street.

"Look both ways." Dean continued, waiting until they both checked for cars before crossing.

Thankfully the diner was small, and not at all crowded- And Dean made sure to find a booth towards the back that gave him a perfect view of the front door. Just as always he made Erin sit closest to the wall, so he could block her from anyone that might have come inside, while Sam sat in the middle. Just as always.

It didn't take long for a waitress to come over, and once she saw the three young children her brow arched.

"Where's your parents?" She asked.

And Dean knew how to handle the situation, because he had done it dozens of times in the past. So, he flashed a cute smile and said.

"Our dad had to run an errand, and he told us to stay here and eat lunch, Ma'am. He's coming to pick us up in about twenty minutes."

On cue all three of them smiled, and just as always the waitress was surprised at such polite and sweet children.

"Well, okay..." She pulled her order pad out. "What do you kids want?"

"They'll have cheeseburgers and fries." Dean answered.

"And what about you, sweetie?"

"Nothing for me, thanks."

He tried to pretend he wasn't hungry, but the truth of the matter is is that he didn't have much cash. He had just enough for his brother and sister, so that meant he would have to make do with a few potato chips at the motel.

"Dean," Erin chirped from her seat. "Where'd daddy go this time?"

He chugged at a glass of water, trying to fill himself up somewhat so the growling in his stomach would quiet.

"I told you. He's away on business." He answered.

"But where?" She puffed out her bottom lip. "He's always gone."

"He never tells, Erin," Sam said. "I don't think he can, he'll get in trouble."

And Erin knew better than to question it any further. The last thing she wanted was to get her brother in trouble.

When their food arrived Erin immediately leaned over and whispered in Sammy's ear, and he nodded in agreement. The first thing they did before eating was each cut their cheeseburgers in half and lie them on an extra plate with a handful of fries. Then Sammy scooted the plate over in front of Dean.

"What's this?" Dean asked.

"You gotta eat too, Dean." Sam said. "So we'll share ours."

Dean blinked a few times over, unable to keep himself from staring blankly at his brother and sister.

"Thanks." He muttered, taking a bite of half the burger.

* * *

**_Five years later._**

* * *

"Now," John said. "Don't pull the trigger, squeeze it gently, be careful of the recoil. It'll surprise you, Erin."

She nodded and let out a deep breath, taking aim at the bottles lined up on the fence. Before she could get a shot off Dean reached over and steadied her hands.

"If you miss, it's okay, kiddo." He whispered in her ear.

She nodded again and blinked a few times over- Taking her first shot and missing unfortunately.

What a great 10th birthday, Dean thought to himself sarcastically. He was positive this isn't what Erin had in mind when John said they were going out for her. Although he was hardly surprised at the turn of events. After all, when Sammy turned eight John had done the same thing for him. He just seemed to have the decency to wait an extra two years for Erin. Probably because she was a girl.

Another three shots later Erin hadn't hit any bottles and John let out a grumble.

"You're not concentrating, Erin. Try again." He barked.

She was clearly nervous and anxious now, and with five more shots she expended the cartridge and still hadn't hit any of the bottles.

"It's okay." Dean said, patting her shoulder. "You'll get em next time."

"Don't console her, Dean." John retorted. "She should have had that."

"She's just a kid, dad."

John snatched the gun from Erin's hands as she averted her eyes to the ground.

"That's not an excuse," John sighed. "She should be able to do anything she sets her mind on. I don't know why she's having so much trouble."

"Maybe cause she's ten years old? And before today she's never touched a gun in her life?"

John glared at him. "You don't understand, Dean. Erin's special. Something like this shouldn't be so difficult."

"Special how? You know, you keep sayin that and you never told us why?" Dean shrugged. "She's just a kid, she's not friggin wonder woman."

Sammy rushed over once he heard their Dads tone and took Erin by the hand and pulled her away. If anyone could relate with Erin it would be him. John always had a tendency to be extra hard on them both.

* * *

**_Ten years later._**

* * *

Her very first memory was having that dream, even at a incredibly young age, it was there. The same thing, every other night... The same man, someone she had never seen before in her entire life. A man with a trench coat, and bright blue eyes. There were never any words, no way of knowing who he might have been. She didn't even know his damn name. After so many years of seeing him in her head she halfway felt like she knew him. It didn't make sense, but all she knew was that it was strange.

She was in the middle of that same dream yet again when she felt a thump on the back of her head, and rolled over to see her brother standing over her.

"Wake up, kid." Dean said. "We gotta hit the road."

"What?" She garbled, grabbing the clock on the nightstand and gazing at it. "It's two in the morning, what the hell?"

"Somewhere we gotta be, so get your lazy ass up and pack your crap."

Yeah, she could tell Dean was cranky already, or at least had something on his mind. Erin knew what that was, she wasn't an idiot. It was because over a week ago their dad had gone out on a hunt, and hadn't come back, hadn't called or texted... Nada. And being the type of loyal son Dean happened to be, naturally he began to freak.

"Where are we goin?" She replied finally, kicking the covers off and rubbing her head.

"We're gonna go get Sammy. So get up so we can get it over with. We're two hours away from Standford, I wanna make it there in one."

"Sam?" She stood quickly. "Dean, you know just as much as I do that he's not gonna come with us."

"Yeah he will," Dean replied, stomping over to her duffel and tossing it at her. "Once we tell him that dad's missing, he'll come back and help out."

She rolled her eyes and highly doubted that, in fact she would probably drop dead from shock if something like that happened. It was no big secret that Sammy and their father didn't exactly get along. In fact, their entire childhood consisted of hearing them bicker and squabble, that is- If it wasn't herself the one getting bitched at. But Sammy had taken off two years prior after announcing he was accepted into Standford and was leaving the life... Leaving _them_... Behind. Yeah sure Erin was happy for her brother, all he had ever wanted was to be normal- But she could definitely admit that it stung knowing he was taking off and leaving her to deal with their dad's crap alone. They always had each others backs in the past, looked out and consoled one another after dad went on one of his tirades, and for the last two years she didn't have that. Yes, she had Dean, and he was pretty much more of a father than John had ever been, but that didn't erase the fact that Dean was still completely loyal to the man. But Dean had been the one to raise her, he took care of her when she was sick or hungry or scared. That was the only reason why Erin hadn't taken off just like Sammy had. Because she couldn't leave Dean behind.

They had been close for as long as she could remember, he was the one person in the entire world she knew she could count on no matter what. So, Erin just couldn't leave, and she couldn't say no to him even if it went against her better judgement, even if she knew the outcome of whatever he had planned would end badly.

"Give me five minutes." She sighed, heading to the bathroom. Yeah, yet again he won her over. He was pretty damn good at that.

It didn't take long to get dressed, and brush the knots out of her bed messed hair. For a moment she stared at her reflection and sighed. The one thing she always liked was that she resembled both her brothers. She had Sam's eyes and hair color, but Deans freckles, and full lips. It was pretty obvious they were siblings.

After she did her business she stumbled out of the bathroom, and shoved her feet into her dirty combat boots. Dean was waiting at the door with her duffel slung over his shoulder, while his sat by his feet. Once she nodded he opened the door and stomped out, throwing their bags in the trunk of the Impala and taking off.

He definitely had a lead foot right about then, and was overly eager to get to Sam.

"You know," Erin said. "He's probably gonna be pissed at us."

"Why would he be pissed?"

"Uh, cause we haven't seen him in two years, and we didn't call him to let him know we're coming, and we're gonna show up at three in the fucking morning?"

"C'mon, he's our brother, he won't be that pissed."

She snorted. "Yeah okay, Dean. Keep tellin yourself that."

Erin hated to think that she was actually nervous as they pulled to a stop in front of Sam's place. It was crazy really, she knew she shouldn't have been nervous. It's not like they had parted on bad terms, in fact- They were more civil with each other than Dean or their dad had been. Sammy needed someone in his corner and he knew Erin would be the only one to do that. Even though she hated he was leaving, she couldn't stop him. So she stood up for him, and defended him to dad when he went into a rant. Which of course ended badly for her. She tried not to recall everything he said to her after that happened. But of course the words "You're not my daughter" seemed to resonate inside her mind no matter how much she tried to force them out.

But Sam was out now, he wasn't a hunter anymore. He was living a normal life, and there they were about to barge in there and smack him in the face with it all over again. She supposed that's why she was nervous, because she didn't want to see those sad puppy eyes looking at her and asking, "Why?"

She followed Dean up the front porch steps and instead of knocking or ringing the doorbell like a normal person, he instead opted for taking his lock pick out and fiddling with the door.

"Dude," She bellowed quietly. "Why don't you just friggin knock?"

"It'll be fun to surprise him, right?" He sneered up at her. "Besides, gotta see if Sammy's still got his game on."

"You're an idiot. This is gonna be bad."

She halfway had the urge to call Sam before Dean could get the door unlocked, but dammit her brother was fast at picking locks now a days and within ten seconds he had the door open and stepped inside.

All was dark, so they couldn't really make out any details of the house, but for the wood floors that creaked under their feet. Dean seemed right at home as he waltzed through the dark hallways and started searching through cabinets in the kitchen. He was obviously making more noise than necessary and Erin knew why. He wanted to freak Sam out, so he would come down and bust in like some macho guard dog and try to kick the crap out of him. It was Dean's little way of testing how much of Sam's fighting skills might have still been intact.

When there was a creak on the stairs both Dean and Erin froze, before he waltzed his way out of the kitchen and started through the dining room. She followed as quickly as possible and emerged in the doorway just in time to see a tall figure dart at Dean and completely flatten him to his back.

"Hey, whoa whoa," Dean said, grinning like an idiot. "I was just lookin for a beer."

"Dean?" Sam breathed out. "What the hell are you doing here? You scared the crap outa me."

He helped him up from the floor before noticing his sister standing in the doorway.

"Erin, you're here too?" He blinked a few times over. "What's going on guys?"

"We gotta talk." Dean answered.

"Talk?" Sam shook his head. "You couldn't have waited until morning for that, Dean?"

"Nope, sorry. Kind of a big deal, so... You wanna do it here?"

They fell silent when a light was flicked on and a pretty blonde girl leaned against the door. Her eyes moved from Erin to Dean before settling on Sam.

"Sam?" She said. "What's going on?"

"Jess," Judging by the look on Sammy's face it seemed as though he completely forgot about her. "Hey, everything's okay. These, uh... Well this is Erin and Dean."

"Erin and Dean?" She smiled. "Your brother and sister?"

When Erin noticed the cocky smirk on Dean's face she quickly spoke up before he said something inappropriate.

"Hi, nice to meet you," She said. "Sorry to bust in here like this in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Dean grinned. "But we love to surprise Sammy. And, we kinda need to talk to him about something so we're just gonna steal him for a couple minutes."

"No," Sam pushed his way past to stand beside his girlfriend. "Whatever you have to say you can say in front of Jessica."

Dean and Erin exchanged a glance before he shrugged. "Okay then. Dad's went on a trip, and it's been a while since we've heard from him."

Sam didn't look impressed, and he faked a pretty corny smile to try and cover over the fact that he had never told Jessica about what he used to do.

"Yeah, well- Dad always goes on trips, Dean. And he doesn't usually call that often. Doesn't sound all that unusual."

"No, Sammy." Dean shook his head. "Dad's on a _hunting _trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days."

That was all it took for Sam's face to go blank and his arm to fall from around his girlfriend.

"Jess, can you give us a few minutes, please?" He said.

Thankfully she seemed to sense the tension as she went back upstairs and closed the bedroom door. Sam grabbed his jacket after Dean motioned for him to follow, and they left the house and returned to the impala- Where Dean popped open the trunk.

"So what's this about? Dad hasn't called?" Sam asked.

"No," Dean shook his head. "And he hasn't been answering when we call, it goes right to voice mail. I've left him dozens of them and he hasn't responded until this morning." He then played a recording of the voice mail, and it was a first Erin had heard it. In fact she didn't even know their dad had responded to Dean, this was just a big a surprise to her as it was to Sam.

The voice mail consisted of their dad saying he was in Jericho California on some ghost hunting job, and Sam and Erin both stood up straight when they managed to hear a faint and crackled voice in the background.

"You know there's EVP on that, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I cleaned it up a bit-" Dean said, tinkering with the recorder in his hand then holding it up a second time and hitting play.

A woman's voice fluttered up from the line of static and Sam's brows furrowed.

"What did she say?"

"Sounded like, I can't go home again." Erin replied.

After they had listened to it over a dozen times it seemed, Dean finally tossed the recorder back in the trunk.

"So we need to get our asses to Jericho and find out what the hell happened to him." Dean sighed. "He could be hurt, or in trouble... You're comin with us, right, Sammy?"

Sam let his eyes fall onto Erin, and he awkwardly fidgeted with the strings on his hoodie.

"I guess I could, but the thing is... Is that I gotta be back here in two days. There's something I have to do." Sam answered.

"What can be more important than this?" Dean retorted.

"An interview, and I can't miss it."

"What kinda interview, Sam?" Erin asked now.

"For a law school. So, yeah this is pretty much what I've been building up to the last two years... So, I have to be back in two days."

Deans brows rose. "Law school huh, Sammy? Wow, not sure what to say to that."

"But I'm sure it's something nice, right Dean?" Erin scowled at him. "Do you think we could just get back on the road now, maybe?"

Her brothers glared at each other and already she felt like ripping her hair out. Yeah, this was going to end _so _well, she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites/followers. You guys are so awesome. This story will probably be updated once a week, hopefully twice if I manage to write as much as I want, but I'm working on other things as well. So, lemme know if you guys are enjoying it, thanks :)**_

* * *

The first thing the siblings did once they pulled into Jericho was find the road that their dad had gone missing on. At least with what they could tell from the voice mail he left Dean. He said he was checking out some lead near the bridge, and when they pulled to a stop at said bridge, seeing it surrounded by police cars- They knew they hit the jackpot so to speak.

Dean instantly reached into the glove box and started rifling through the cigar box full of fake IDs, pulling two out and handing one to Sam.

"Erin, stay in the car. You look too young to be a marshal, so me and Sammy will handle it, okay?" Dean said.

She grumbled from her seat in the back and shrugged. She guessed he was right in a way. She was only twenty, and since she had inherited Sam's puppy eyes it gave off the illusion that she was younger than she actually was.

"Okay, fine, but be careful. Don't fuck up." She replied.

Dean gave her a "What do you take me for?" look and he and Sam climbed out of the car and started for the cop car barricade.

Erin slumped down in her seat so the cops wouldn't notice her, and watched as her brothers approached, flashed their badges and were immediately granted entrance onto the bridge. She could see in the distance that the officers were swarming around a car that looked to have just been abandoned in the middle of the bridge. Pictures were being taken, crime scene tape was being put up, but from where Erin sat she couldn't exactly see any blood or gore. Overall the boys weren't on the bridge five minutes before they started back for the car.

She chuckled when she noticed Dean smack Sam on the back of the head, and already she could tell they were back to their usual playful bickering. She found it funny how she missed the little things like that over the last two years.

They climbed back in the car and Dean grumbled. "Well, looks like we got another missing person already. Just vanished outa his car last night, no signs at all that he was ganked or nothin."

"Did he jump off the bridge?" Erin asked.

"Doesn't seem like it," Sam answered. "I mean, they dragged the river and everything, haven't found a body."

"So where do we go from here?"

"First thing's first," Dean revved up the engine. "Cops said that before this guy disappeared he was talkin to his girlfriend. So, I figured we'd hit her up, ask her some questions- See if she knows anything."

"Any idea where to find her?" She leaned forward and rested her arms on the front seat.

"Sheriff said she's putting up missing posters in town, so I guess we'll start driving until we see her." Sam answered.

It didn't take long to find her, considering she was on the busiest street in town taping up posters. Dean parked the car and this time Erin was allowed to follow as they approached the short brunette.

"Hey are you Amy?" Dean asked, and the girl immediately seemed suspicious. "We're Troy's cousins, I'm Dean, that's Sam and Erin."

"He didn't say he had cousins." The girl replied, turning and walking down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, we never really saw him all that much," Dean went on. "But, uh, hey- We're out here looking for him, and thought maybe you could answer some questions for us?"

She shrugged. "Yeah okay, I guess."

To give off the illusion they weren't some weirdo freak jobs, and were actually this dudes cousins, Dean offered to buy them a coffee, so they trekked to the closest diner and found a booth.

After they had sat, they started in with the questions. Usually they made Erin stay silent, since apparently she had a big snippy mouth and often at times would piss off whoever they were interrogating. So she played the role of the shy young innocent cousin, and merely sipped at her coke observing what her brothers did best... Which was lying.

"So, what can you tell us about the night Troy disappeared?" Sam asked.

Amy sighed and looked to her friend who sat beside her in the booth.

"Everything was pretty normal I guess. We were talking on the phone, he said he'd call me back, but... He never did." She replied.

"And that's it? He didn't say anything? He didn't act strange, or maybe say he saw somethin?" Dean went on.

Yet again, Amy and her friend exchanged glances. "No, there wasn't anything weird, that I can remember anyways."

"You sure about that?" Dean pursed his lips.

"You might as well tell them." Her friend commented. "If it'll help at all."

"Tell us what?" Sam and Dean said in unison, which made Erin roll her eyes. These two... Really...

"Well," Amy sat up, and suddenly it seem as though she didn't care much about her missing boyfriend. "There's this story, kind of like a local ghost legend that's been around for like, ever... They say that this woman got murdered, and now her ghost haunts the road and kills any men she comes across. It's been happening for decades, and there's been dozens of guys gone missing."

Most of the time you couldn't take local legends as fact, most were just made up out of the blue by someone wanting to stir up trouble. Other times they were based on actual facts, but had been twisted and distorted to the extent that nothing was accurate anymore. Neither sibling knew whether or not this so called ghost story was like that as well. But, considering their father had gone missing hunting said ghost, it was safe to assume there was at least _some _truth to it.

But unfortunately they still had nothing to go on when it came to finding their missing father, and after a few more insignificant questions they left the diner and started back for the Impala.

"Okay, so now what?" Erin asked. "Those chicks weren't really helpful back there."

"They might have been," Sam replied. "If there's actually a ghost out there on that road. So, we should hit the library and see if there's anything documented on a woman being murdered or dying out there."

"Awesome," Dean grumbled, opening the drivers side door. "My favorite thing ever... Researching."

* * *

Erin was pacing back and forth behind the computer where her brothers sat. Sometimes, on rare occasions, she actually didn't mind so much all the research they had to do. But, most of the time she was exactly like Dean, and hated it. Now apparently seemed to be one of the times she hated it. She was restless, and wasn't certain why.

It was easy to try and convince herself it was simply that she was worried about their missing father, but... She couldn't lie to herself... That wasn't it. Which of course made her feel guilty. Despite her father's lack of interest in her growing up, how hard he always was on her and the cruel things he said, he was still her father. That should have made some kind of an impact on her, but... It didn't. Of course she didn't dare tell that to her brothers, even though she was inclined to believe that Sam wouldn't have been angry at her over it. He might not have agreed with it, but he would understand. He had a hard time growing up with having John Winchester as a father too, but Erin had it even worse, for some odd reason. Maybe because she was female, maybe because she was illegitimate, maybe because she was "special", whatever that meant. But whatever the reason might have been, it was enough for John to very much dislike his own daughter.

But, she couldn't find it in her to care about that either- Because she had Sam and Dean, and that was all that mattered to her.

Of course she wanted to know why John had always called her "special", but so far throughout her life growing up, he'd never told them. Not even Dean. But that wasn't uncommon when it came to their father, he was secretive and would hold things back until the last moment when a situation was about to blow up in your face, so why wouldn't he do the same thing now?

"So, nothin yet?" She asked, stopping to look over Sam's shoulder.

"Well no murders out there on that road, at least." Dean replied with a sigh.

"Move outa the way," Sam said, then pushed Dean away from the computer. "Maybe it wasn't a murder... Maybe it was a suicide."

He clicked around and Erin leaned closer as one news article popped up from practically thirty years ago for a woman that had jumped off the bridge after her children drowned in the bathtub.

Erin barely listened to Sam explain the woman's name was Constance, and he rambled on from the article as she turned away and started for the window behind them. She watched the traffic roll by for a good few seconds before letting out a sigh and pressing her forehead against the glass. Somehow she knew this whole hunting gig wasn't going to lead them to their father. If he was still in town, he would have made some sort of contact by now. Of course, trying to convince Dean of that would have been impossible, he was still so sure their dad was still in the area, maybe laying hurt in a ditch somewhere. But Erin knew better than to believe that. John Winchester might have been a lousy dad, but the one thing he wasn't lousy at was hunting and keeping himself safe. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd taken off on a job and stayed gone with no contact. She remembered a time when she was a teenager that he'd left and was gone for practically an entire month with no phone calls, nothing. So it kind of made her question why Dean was so insistent this time that something was wrong. He'd only been gone for a little over a week after all.

Her hazel eyes trailed off from the traffic and the people walking as she scaled the many buildings, before settling on a figure across the street partially hidden by an obnoxious yellow striped awning.

For a moment she thought she was just hallucinating, or maybe overreacting, until that figure stepped out into the light and stared directly up at her.

She felt her heart plummet to her stomach when she noticed a pair of bright blue eyes, even from that great a distance, just gawking at her. As well as a tousled mess of dark hair that was blowing in the breeze, and a tan trench coat.

"No way..." She whispered to herself.

Before she could even think about what she could be getting herself into, she darted from the window and down the library stairs, pushing out the front door and waiting for the traffic to clear so she could cross the street. She didn't stop when she heard Sam and Dean both chasing after her and calling her name, her feet only skidded to a stop once she reached the area the man was standing, and finding him gone.

"No way could he have ran away that fast," She breathed out. "What the hell?"

"Erin!" Dean shouted, reaching her first and grabbing her arm. "What the fuck was that? What were you chasing?"

She turned a quick circle and noticed the way was clear, there wasn't even an alley or some place for the guy to run into to get away that fast. And he couldn't have jumped into a car either, because the traffic was so thick he couldn't have had a quick get away.

"I don't know... Nothing I guess." She answered.

"Nothing?" Sam stood tall. "Erin, you looked like you saw a ghost, which normally you'd be stoked about that, but this time... You looked freaked... What was it?"

But she couldn't very well tell them that the blue eyed mystery man she'd been dreaming about ever since she was a child was standing right there on this sidewalk just staring at her like some weirdo freak. One, they wouldn't believe her, or two- They'd think she was being stalked by some monster or creature and try to hunt him down- And she couldn't have that. No, she didn't know who or what this man was, but the one thing she couldn't let happen was let her brothers kick the crap out of him. After all these years of dreaming his face, she needed to know why and how it was happening.

"A figment of my imagination apparently." She spoke again. "It's nothin."

"Right," Dean rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks for scaring the crap outa me."

Sam only stared at her though, with that pensive look he was known for. He could sense there was something seriously wrong, but he didn't know what. Erin wouldn't have reacted that way unless she saw something or _someone_, that disturbed her. But, he knew that if he was going to get any answers out of her, it wouldn't be while they were with Dean, he'd have to wait until they were alone. That's when they would confide in each other, if there was ever something bothering either of them. They'd had hundreds of heart to hearts in the past, and in a way he felt guilty that he had left her behind and they hadn't been able to do that for two years. Who knows what she might have been through during that time. It was at that moment that he asked himself if leaving Erin behind with their dad wasn't the biggest mistake he could have ever made, and also- He couldn't help but ask himself if when he did return to his new life, if he shouldn't take her with him.

So when he noticed the panicked gleam to her eyes, he kept his mouth shut, and instead followed Dean back to the Impala.

"What're we doing now?" She asked.

"Gonna check out that damn bridge." Dean answered. "Since that's where that Constance chick took the swan dive."

"It's gonna be dark soon," She went on. "Are we sure that's such a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

She looked from brother to brother before shrugging. "Well, the chick only kills guys right? Last I checked, you two are dudes."

Dean sneered and leaned his elbows on the roof of the car. "Aw, Sammy- Ain't she cute? She's worried about us."

"Shut up!" Erin barked back. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

She climbed in the backseat and slammed the door, saying nothing more on the matter when her brothers also climbed in and they sped out of town.

Once they got to the bridge, it was as Erin feared it would be, completely pitch black outside. Whatever lights might have been coming from the town were long gone and drowned out by now. Even though she'd been raised as a hunter, and had seen more frightening things than any other normal girl her age would have, the dark always had her on edge. That's why, if she knew they were going to be taking a job that would be in such darkness, she usually stayed behind. She wasn't sure why she was so scared of the dark, but their father had always tried to push her past it, telling her to "sack up" and stop being a baby about it. Dean however, he would always try to comfort her. Which is what he was attempting to do this time around.

"You doin okay back there, kid?" He asked.

She stared out the window, and at the creepy black surrounding her and let out a deep breath. "I guess."

"You wanna sit this one out?" He went on.

"No... I don't wanna be left alone in a friggin dark car, dude."

He nodded and cut the engine. "Okay, then just stick close to me and Sammy, you'll be fine."

With another deep breath she followed their lead as they started across the bridge. Before long she couldn't help but notice that her brothers were starting to bicker... Again. Mainly about their dad, which to Erin, wasn't all that uncommon. As much as she loved her big brother Dean, she'd be lying if she said it didn't piss her off that he was so god damned loyal to the s.o.b. But, at least, she thought- Sammy saw through their dad's antics.

"That's what I don't get," Sam said, breaking through Erin's thoughts. "He just takes off, with no warning what so ever, and _you _don't have questions?"

"Course I got questions, dude-" Dean replied. "But, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I just don't understand the blind faith you have in the man," Sam shook his head. "Look, I understand that what happened to mom was horrible, but that's no reason to drag your kids across the country and forcing them into this kinda crap."

"Yeah, that's right, Sammy- We just forget about the thing that killed mom and let him get away with it."

Sam stopped and glared down at his brother. "That's not what I'm saying... What I meant, is that this crusade of dad's has always been insane. The late nights with him drinking and mumbling things, the dangerous jobs he took us on when we were just kids, the crap he put Erin through... It's not fair... On _any _of us."

Dean let his eyes fall onto his sister, who was standing there shivering with her arms crossed.

"Erin's fine, she's got us... All that other crap-"

"So that's supposed to erase the way dad's always treated her?" Sam interrupted. "Please don't tell me you're making excuses for him, or that just because we're here that erases everything else?" He stood tall and moved his attention to his sister. "Erin, after all of this is over and done with and I go back to Stanford... Why don't you come with me?"

"What?" Dean barked back before Erin could respond. "What the hell?"

Ignoring Dean, Sam went on. "There's plenty of room at our place, I know Jess won't mind... You could get a job, live a somewhat normal life... How does that sound?"

Erin shifted on her feet, completely unprepared for a question like that. "I, uh... I don't know, Sam... If I left-"

"Well this is just friggin awesome," Dean cut through, throwing his arms up in the air. "So, not only do you take off on me, Sam- But you're tryin to get Erin to do it too?"

"This isn't about you, Dean!" Sam retorted. "This is about how dad's always treated her, and being her oldest brother you'd think that you'd wanna put a stop to all that."

Erin could only watch the interaction with her heart in her throat. It wasn't Dean's fault that her father was the way he was, and there certainly wasn't anything he could do about it himself. All three siblings had learned a long time ago that defying John Winchester would never end well. Sam had left, had gotten away from it all, and honestly since he'd left and it was only Erin there to take the verbal abuse, Dean _had _tried to stop it. In fact, they'd gotten into more fights and arguments then they ever had her entire life growing up. Dean was her protector, had stepped in front of her whenever their dad was drunk and throwing one of his fits, had even been hit once or twice a couple years back. And it was all to protect her.

Of course it pissed Dean off, more than pissed him off, it enraged him at how badly their father acted when it concerned his little sister. That's why he always swore that he'd be there for her, that she didn't need to worry about anything because he was responsible for her- Which is why the thought of her suddenly taking off and leaving him scared the crap out of him. Especially since Erin was special, and not just for whatever reason it was their dad claimed she was special. She was timid, quiet, and spooked easily. She hated the dark, and even though she was an excelled hunter, she wasn't at all like himself. He knew she didn't necessarily hate the life, because she understood they needed to help people, but he couldn't deny that he worried about her every damn second she was out on the road with them.

Erin tore her eyes off her arguing brothers and fixed them on something in the distance. Squinting, she took a few steps closer and felt her feet halt abruptly.

"Guys," She said, raising a hand and pointing to the clear apparition of a woman standing on the railing of the bridge. "Look."

They shut up long enough to look over their shoulders and watch as the woman suddenly leapt off the edge and vanished.

"Shit," Dean said, then started running, stopping at the edge where she had been as they all three gazed over to see nothing in the water below. "Okay, so I guess we got the right place."

"So why would her ghost just jump over like-"

Erin's words were cut off when the Impala's engine suddenly revved into life, the lights brightly beaming into their faces forcing her to squint.

"Dean... Who the fuck's driving your car?" She asked.

And he reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, jingling them in front of her face.

"Uh... Okay," Sam said, shrugging. "That's not creepy at all."

Suddenly the car cranked into drive and peeled off across the bridge, gunning right for Sam and Dean. With a quick shove by Dean, Erin was tossed and rolling to the other side, out of range from the car as it zoomed closer. She could only pull herself to her feet and watch as it had no interest in her and instead flew up on her brothers that were trying to run and ended up diving over the side of the bridge to get away. As soon as they weren't in site in anymore, the engine died, the lights fading back to black and all went quiet.

"Sam! Dean!" Erin shouted, rushing over just in time to see Sam struggling to hold onto a beam.

Reaching down, she grabbed Sam's arm and tried her best to help him up. He grunted as he pulled and climbed, throwing one leg over the edge and then the other as he fell to the bridge floor and heaved out a few deep breaths. He quickly pushed himself up though and joined Erin at the edge as they screamed and searched for Dean.

After a few sputters they saw him emerge from the water and climb up onto the muddy banks, and Erin flew from the bridge and ran down the hill where he was laying and dove on him.

"Are you okay?" She asked, practically in tears.

"Oh yeah..." He mumbled back. "Peachy."

And it was in that moment that Erin realized that no matter how much she hated being stuck with their father, she couldn't ever leave her brother behind. Sam was different than she was, he was more independent and could live a life without their oldest brother, but she couldn't. So she told herself she'd put up with their dad's crap, after they found him again that is, but only for Dean.

After he'd recovered they both made it back up to the bridge where Sam waited.

"Man, that Constance chick is so dead... Again!" Dean shouted. "It's one thing to come after me, but to take off in my baby? No way, that bitches bones are toast!"

He was covered from head to toe in mud, his favorite leather jacket was practically unrecognizable anymore.

"Dude," Sam said, scooting away from him. "You smell like a frickin toilet."

Dean frowned and leaned against the hood of the Impala. "Yeah I bet... Well, let's get outa here, go find a motel or somethin so I can get cleaned up and we can roast this skank."

So they started off towards town and to the nearest motel, and seeing is that if Erin didn't go in with Dean while he booked the room, he'd end up forgetting to get a third bed- She stood at the counter while Sammy lingered by the door in the background.

The motel clerk took one look at the credit card Dean dropped on the counter, then arched a brow.

"You guys having some kind of family reunion or something?" He asked.

"Uh," Dean fidgeted slightly. "What?"

"Man called Burt Afranbian checked in about two days ago, rented the room for an entire month." The man swiped the card then tossed it back at Dean.

"Oh, yeah," Erin said before Dean could. "That's our dad. You mind telling us what room he's in?"

Normally they wouldn't do something like that, but she made good use of her puppy eyes.

"Room 16." He answered. "Just take a right outside."

After they got their own room key they left the front desk and started down the line of doors until coming to room 16. Dean immediately began picking the lock while Sam and Erin stood guard. Once it was open Sam pushed past and entered first, grabbing Dean by the collar and yanking him inside as well as Erin followed.

As soon as the door was closed Erin's eyes fixed on the walls of the room, that had been completely covered with newspaper clippings, maps, and other random things that told her their father had been neck deep in his job when he vanished. Dean approached the nightstand and noticed a half eaten burger, picked it up and gave it a whiff, immediately grimacing after.

"Okay, so," He said, choking back a gag. "He's been gone for a few days obviously."

"Look at this place." Sammy replied, gawking at all of the papers tacked up. "Salt lines around the bed and windows, he was definitely on to something here."

"Yeah, but what I don't get is if dad knew this Constance chick was the spirit responsible, then why didn't he salt and burn her bones a long time ago?" Erin added. "Why would he just up and leave without finishing the job."

"Good question," Dean nodded. "But somethin musta came up that he had to take care of, and he knew we'd eventually come along to this place and finish the job for him." He then held up his arms and got a good look at himself and the mud that had dried and cracked across his jacket and face. "I'm gonna get cleaned up, then we'll go grab some breakfast or something."

He started for the bathroom but Sam stopped him. "Dean hold on... I'm sorry for all the crap I said... Ya know, before?"

"Oh please, Sammy- No chick flick moments." Dean replied with a wink.

"Fine... Jerk."

Dean smirked and opened the bathroom door finishing with a "Bitch" Before stepping inside and locking it.

Once they heard the shower running Erin started pacing around the room, examining all of the articles and notes their dad had pinned up there, while Sam made checked his voice mail with a dopey little smile on his face. She noticed and immediately chuckled.

"So... She doin okay without you, big guy?"

He flicked his eyes to Erin's before nodding. "Yeah she's okay... Just says she misses me."

"Awww." She moved over and flopped down beside him. "Well she seems really nice, Sammy. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks..." He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and sat back. "Listen, Erin... I meant what I said... If you wanna come back with me after all this crap is over, you can."

"I know," She nodded. "But I can't, Sammy."

"You don't have to stay just for Dean, you know? Especially since I know how bad things can get between you and dad."

"Yeah," She looked away so he wouldn't notice her expression. "Ya know, I try to tell myself that maybe one of these days dad's gonna snap outa this hatred he has for me, that maybe I'll get lucky and he'll actually treat me like a daughter, but... I think it's gotten to the point that I've convinced myself it's never gonna happen, he's always gonna act like that, so... It's not like I'm not used to it or anything."

"Still," Sam sighed, shaking his head. "It could get worse, it seems like it is the older you get."

"Maybe so, but I got Dean. And he watches out for me..." She paused, twisting her hands in front of her nervously. "Did you know that last year Dean and me actually took off on our own, after another fight between me and dad?"

"What?" Sam was taken aback. "You mean Dean actually left?"

"Yeah... Shocker right? But it got bad there for a while, dad was drinkin a lot more, and I dunno... My face pisses him off for some reason. Him and Dean got into it, dad ended up shoving Dean into the wall, so... He grabbed me and we left, was gone for a couple weeks before dad tracked us down and convinced us to come back. Ever since then dad's been makin himself scarce so we won't leave again. Cause ya know, his crusade to kill whatever it was that killed your mom is more important than anything else. He wants his soldiers there to fight for him in case things turn hairy."

Sam shook his head, and was the one to look away now so Erin wouldn't see the anger in his eyes. "Well, things are gonna get better eventually. They have to."

But she highly doubted that... As long as she was around, nothing was ever gonna get better. Their dad would always be that way... But, like she'd told herself a million times in the past. That didn't matter, she'd deal with it, for her brother... Even for Sam if by some miracle he decided to stick with them.

Twenty or so minutes later Dean was cleaned up and in a fresh change of clothes, as he grabbed his keys and headed to the door.

"Gonna go grab somethin quick for breakfast, then we can find out where Constance is planted... You comin Erin?"

She jumped up from the chair she'd been sitting in and nodded. "Yeah, I'll come."

"Hold down the fort, Sammy." Dean replied, then left with Erin in tow.

Halfway across the parking lot they both stopped and Dean let out a quiet curse at noticing the cops were swarming around the Impala.

"Fuck," He muttered, then pulled his phone and quickly dialed Sam. "Dude, five-o caught up, get the fuck outa there and be quick."

After he hung up it didn't take long for the Sheriff to stomp over and start in with the questioning. Fake id's, phony badges and their typical shenanigans was enough to land them in cuffs and thrown in the back of the squad car. Erin tried not to panic as she saw from the corner of her eye the curtains shift in their father's room. At least Sam would be able to get outa there, and maybe figure something out to help them escape. But, as she looked to Dean in the seat beside her, noticing him not the least bit worried- She knew he must've already had something up his sleeve.

Still... She sat back and let out a deep sigh. This was the first time she'd ever been arrested, and she wasn't thrilled with the thought of what was gonna come next.


End file.
